"That's Why I Didn't Put Him on the Stand": Richard Hawk on Juan Corona's Heart Attack, 1973

AP newsfilm from January 1973, while the jury was deliberating, in which Juan Corona's defense attorney, Richard Hawk, talks to reporters about Corona's heart attack and why he kept him off the witness stand. Corona is not heard.

Subject

Juan Corona

Recorded

January 13, 1973

Runtime

1:20

Content warning: Concerns a trial for the murders of 25 men; no detail of the killings is spoken in the video.

The Report

This is an 80-second newsfilm item from January 13, 1973, held by the Associated Press and posted on its archive channel. It was filmed while the jury in Juan Corona's murder trial was deliberating. After about half a minute of pictures without speech, Corona's defense attorney, Richard Hawk, answers two questions from reporters about Corona's heart attack: whether it could lead to a mistrial, and whether the strain of the trial caused it. AP's library card lists Corona's wife among the subjects filmed; she is not heard. Corona himself is not heard.

Historical Context

In May and June 1971 the bodies of 25 men, most of them transient farmworkers, were found buried in orchards along the Feather River in Sutter County, California. Juan Corona, a Yuba City labor contractor, was arrested on May 26, 1971. Richard Hawk replaced the public defender on June 14, 1971, taking literary and dramatic rights to Corona's story as part of his fee. The trial opened in Fairfield on September 11, 1972, before Judge Richard Patton. Hawk rested the defense without calling witnesses, and Corona did not testify.

Circumstances

The case went to the jury on January 11, 1973. According to AP's title and to Hawk on film, Corona suffered a heart attack while the jury was deliberating; no independent source checked for this record documents the January 1973 episode. Corona had been hospitalized with heart trouble twice in 1971, after his arrest, which matches Hawk's reference to "the first two heart attacks." The jury found Corona guilty on all 25 counts on January 18, 1973.

What the Report Covers

Asked whether Corona's condition could cause a mistrial, Hawk says, "I certainly hope not. I don't want a mistrial." Asked whether the strain of the trial brought on the heart attack, he answers "absolutely," citing the medical opinion on Corona's two earlier heart attacks that the accusation and incarceration caused them. He says that what happened is what someone he calls "Lou" had told him would happen if he put Corona on the stand: "if just waiting for the verdict did this to him," and ends by saying that is why Corona was not put on the stand. Part of his answer is unclear in the recording.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records Hawk explaining, during deliberations and in his own words, his decision not to have Corona testify: one of the choices central to later criticism of the defense. On May 8, 1978, a California appeals court ordered a new trial, finding in part that the defense investigation had been inadequate and that Hawk's fee agreement created a conflict of interest.

Archival Importance

A short piece of newsfilm from the last week of Corona's first trial, a companion to AP's verdict-day footage of Hawk.

Important Caveats

Corona does not speak in this video. Hawk's name is not spoken; he is identified by AP's title ("Juan Corona's atty") and by what he says. His account of why Corona did not testify, and his view that the trial caused the heart attack, are his own statements. The January 1973 heart attack is reported by AP and Hawk and was not independently verified. "Lou" is not identified. AP's title "clients hear insufficiency" is a garbling of "client's heart insufficiency." Corona's 1973 conviction was overturned in 1978; he was convicted again on September 23, 1982.

Reporter: Is there a possibility this could result in a mistrial?

Richard Hawk: I certainly hope not. I don't want a mistrial.

Reporter: [unclear: "Mary"; captions only] Are you really convinced that it was the strain of the trial that brought this heart attack?

Richard Hawk: Absolutely. It was the medical opinion on the first two heart attacks he had that it was the accusation, the incarceration [unclear: "that caused it" / "classic"]. There's no question about it. And what has happened is just what Lou (name as heard; not verified) told me would have happened if I put him on the stand. I mean, if just waiting for the verdict did this to him, [unclear: "he never thought it would have attacked him. It would have been an attack by him for days. He just could have held on." (Whisper) / "he never thought it was there no Kendra of attacking it would have been four days" (captions)]. And that's why [unclear: "I" / "he"] didn't put him on the stand. [About 01:15 to 01:20: no further speech; clip ends at 01:20.] ---